Master My Garden Podcast

Spring flowering bulbs are gardening's ultimate return on investment. Planted from September through November, these botanical powerhouses burst forth from winter's grip with waves of colour that evolve from the first snowdrops after Christmas through magnificent tulips and alliums in late May. What sets bulbs apart from other garden plants is their remarkable ability to naturalize—multi...

Water might be the most overlooked factor in garden success. As temperatures soar and rainfall becomes scarce across the UK and Ireland, understanding proper watering techniques has never been more crucial for garden survival. This episode tackles the surprisingly complex art of effective watering. While not the most glamorous gardening topic, it addresses the root cause of numerous garden problem...

Soil health emerges as the unlikely hero in our quest to feed a growing population, reverse climate change, and restore human health in this eye-opening conversation with documentary filmmaker Josh Tickell. As the creative force behind the acclaimed "Kiss the Ground" and "Common Ground" documentaries, Josh brings decades of environmental advocacy experience and firsthand observ...

Welcome to your essential guide for August gardening success! As summer peaks and the first harvests fill our kitchens, smart gardeners are already planning their next moves. This episode unpacks exactly what you should be sowing now to maintain productivity through autumn and beyond. The transition from July to August brings significant changes in the garden. I've just returned from holiday...

Dive deep into the fascinating world of wildlife ponds with expert Ashley Dowling, who reveals that creating a thriving aquatic ecosystem involves far more than simply digging a hole and filling it with water. This episode uncovers the secrets to designing pond environments that genuinely support biodiversity through thoughtful construction and planting. Ashley shares her expertise on creating mul...

Garden enthusiasts, mark your calendars! The Carlow Garden Festival returns for its annual celebration of horticultural excellence, running from July 26th to August 3rd, 2024. This year's lineup features an extraordinary collection of gardening luminaries, innovative formats, and breathtaking garden settings across Carlow. The festival opens with a fascinating pairing as BBC Gardener's W...

Transform your garden with powerful homemade fertilisers hiding in plain sight! This episode dives into the world of natural plant nutrition, answering listener Cian's question about nettle and comfrey teas. Discover why these humble "weeds" might be your garden's greatest untapped resource. Nettle tea, packed with nitrogen, creates remarkably resilient leafy growth with glossi...

Welcome to your essential July seed sowing guide for continuous harvests! While many gardeners think the main growing season has passed, strategic planting now ensures your garden remains productive through autumn, winter, and into early spring. Though July's planting possibilities are fewer than May's abundant options, this focused approach actually gives you the most benefit in extendi...

Horticultural journeys often begin in unexpected ways. For Colin Jones, head gardener at Salterbridge Gardens, it started with his grandfather's fruit patch and eventually led to prestigious gardens across Ireland and Scotland. Now managing a magnificent private estate in Waterford, Colin brings passion, expertise and global perspective to garden creation. The transformation of Salterbridge u...

Perennial borders may be all the rage in contemporary garden design, but have we forgotten the humble flowering shrub? In this eye-opening episode, we explore how these garden stalwarts are being overlooked despite offering year-round structure, extended seasons of interest, and spectacular flowers when perennials lie dormant. From the architectural presence of Cornus kousa to the intoxicating fra...

Ever wondered what to plant in June when your garden beds already seem packed to capacity? This episode answers that crucial question, revealing why continuous sowing through early summer is the secret to garden abundance all year round. The truth is, June represents a pivotal transition in the vegetable garden. While your growing spaces might appear fully occupied now, within weeks early crops wi...

Tom Coward is headline speaker at Laois Garden Festival on Sunday 8th June 2025 celebrating the work of legendary Laois native and garden revolutionary William Robinson.  What if the current trend for wild-looking, naturalistic gardens isn't just aesthetic preference, but actually a profound reaction to our technology-saturated lives? Tom Coward, head gardener at the world-renowned Gravetye M...

Deep in the heart of West Cork lies a garden unlike any other in Ireland – an immersive 11-acre botanical wonderland where rainforest meets meadow, bamboo forests neighbor natural swimming ponds, and plants from distant corners of the world create a magical landscape that challenges everything you thought you knew about Irish gardens. When Americans Paul and Daniel acquired Ardea Garden in late 20...

Ready to break free from the cycle of planting, maintaining, and replacing summer bedding? This episode explores thoughtful alternatives to traditional bedding plants that offer beauty, functionality, and sustainability for your containers and pots. We dive into fruit-bearing options that deliver multiple seasons of interest—from the compact Coronet apple tree that thrives in large containers to s...

Summer has arrived with its warm embrace, transforming gardens seemingly overnight from soggy spring plots to sun-drenched growing spaces. With this dramatic shift comes the perfect opportunity to maximize your greenhouse or polytunnel, turning it into a powerhouse of production. Your greenhouse crops demand a counterintuitive approach to thrive. Rather than daily watering, which creates dependenc...

The biodiversity crisis might seem like an insurmountable challenge, but amidst the doom and gloom shines a remarkable story of hope and transformation. Welcome to Wild Acres Nature Reserve in County Wicklow, where a couple's decision to trade corporate careers for conservation has created a thriving ecological paradise. When Brian and Gilly purchased four fields of intensively grazed perenni...

The garden awakens fully in May, transforming into a hub of activity that demands both attention and strategy. This explosion of growth creates the perfect environment for sowing an impressive variety of seeds, making it arguably the most productive month in the gardening calendar. With beds filling up rapidly, lawns growing vigorously, and perennials emerging from their winter dormancy, May prese...

The weather's dramatic shift from perfect spring warmth to a chaotic mix of snow, torrential rain, hail, and wind serves as a powerful reminder that April gardening requires vigilance and protection strategies. This sudden weather whiplash threatens newly planted seedlings and emerging growth after weeks of productive sowing and planting. Hardening off becomes crucial during these transitiona...

Journey through the 35-year evolution of the O'Mahony Garden, a stunning landscape on the Cork-Limerick border that transforms an ordinary plot into five distinctive garden spaces, each with its own personality and purpose. Siobhan O'Mahony shares her gardening journey that began with essential shelter planting and gradually expanded into a thoughtfully designed landscape. The original g...

Spring has arrived in full force, bringing with it the perfect conditions for garden growth—and revealing some common problems that many gardeners face this time of year. Whether you're noticing patchy growth in your lawn or concerning symptoms on your prized hedges, this episode offers practical solutions to get your garden thriving. I dive deep into two troubleshooting scenarios that appear...

What vegetables to sow in April? The garden explodes into life as April brings the perfect conditions for planting nearly everything on your wish list. After weeks of dry weather in Ireland, temperatures have finally risen to match the sunshine, creating the ideal environment for seeds and seedlings to thrive. This comprehensive seed sowing guide walks you through exactly what to plant now, with s...

Discover the secrets of thriving fruit trees with Susan Poizner, founder of Orchard People and author of multiple books on fruit tree care. In this comprehensive conversation, Susan shares her remarkable journey from BBC journalist to fruit tree expert, sparked by a community orchard project that taught her valuable lessons through trial and error. Susan reveals the often-misunderstood purpose of...

Ready to transform your garden into a symphony of summer color? This episode reveals exactly what you need to plant now for months of vibrant blooms ahead. After weeks of unusually dry weather in Ireland, we're exploring the perfect timing to establish summer-flowering plants that will reward you with an avalanche of color. The secret? A strategic mix of bulbs, bare root perennials, and caref...

Ben Raskin takes us on a journey through the peaceful coexistence of trees and crops in a revolutionary approach to growing food. As Head of Agroforestry at the Soil Association and author of eight books, Ben shares how his 12 years as an organic vegetable grower evolved into a passion for integrating trees into horticultural systems. The conversation reveals surprising insights that challenge con...

Welcome to another vibrant episode of Master My Garden Podcast, where we celebrate the arrival of March and all the planting possibilities this month holds. With the days getting longer and the promise of spring in the air, now is the perfect time to sow your seeds, whether it's vegetables, herbs, or beautiful flowering plants. In this episode, we dive deep into what you can plant, the optima...